Julian Wilson, former BBC racing presenter, dies aged 73

Julian Wilson at Newmarket racecourse during his long career as a BBC racing presenter. Photograph: Andrew Parsons/PA Archive

Julian Wilson, who was for many years synonymous with televised horse racing as the BBC's correspondent and main presenter, has died. He was 73 when passing on Sunday night, following a long battle with cancer.

After a six-year spell with Mirror Group Newspapers, for whom his father, Peter Wilson, was a renowned sportswriter, Wilson won his role with the BBC in 1966 and kept it until retiring at the end of 1997.

He stepped down a month after the retirement of Sir Peter O'Sullevan, the BBC's longstanding racing commentator. Jimmy Lindley, the former Flat jockey who worked with both over many years, has been among the first to pay tribute to Wilson, describing him as "the most thorough professional I've ever come across".

"He was probably the most astute person that's ever been involved in racing," Lindley said. "We were great friends. When I packed up riding he was a great help to me as I was a bit lost, to be honest. I'm so sorry he's no longer with us.

"He gave me some proper tellings-off, I can tell you. He was a wonderful man, though, and a credit to his profession and the biggest compliment I can pay him is that, along with Sir Peter O'Sullevan, they put it all together. Racing was very professionally run in those days on TV, as it is now. Those two set the standard.

"He loved life, he loved wine and he loved people and was a great man. There will be lots of Newmarket trainers saddened by his passing, as he often entertained them at his house."

A committed form student and gambler, Wilson retained his close links with the sport after retirement and was often to be seen in and around the paddock at Newmarket, where he lived. He continued to write, publishing his autobiography, Some You Win, in 1998 and penning many obituaries of racing figures for the Guardian.

In 2008 he wrote an impassioned piece for this paper, decrying "a fixture glut" which he felt was bad news for racegoers, punters and even for owners, since preferred jockeys would often be unavailable. "Racing is being driven by commercial realities that are not in the interest of the sport or its supporters," he declared.

"More is not better. The quality of skilled labour from racing's workforce is threatened by fixture overkill. Results are affected by inadequate work standards by inexperienced travelling staff. The fixture list must be cut back before the gold of British racing becomes dross."

Wilson enjoyed some success as an owner, his Tykeyvor landing a handicap at Royal Ascot in 1996, while Tumbledownwind, in which he had a share, won the 1977 Gimcrack Stakes.

Those expressing their sorrow on Twitter included the Derby-winning trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam, who said he "grew up listening to him and lucky enough to spend time and have many funny times with him. A gent".